Indian Journal of Sustainable Development

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Echoes of Silence in a Cultural Vacuum:Study of Child Abuse in Select Hindi Cinema


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1 Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India
     

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Child sexual abuse is a troubling and perplexing problem in any society. With reference to Indian social and cultural system it becomes even more disturbing because of the cultural vacuum around the same. The lack of terminology and unknowingness forces a child to succumb to silence. The article attempts to explore the evolving image of women’s representation in mainstream Indian cinema with reference to child abuse. The present paper has emphasized the need for a change in the belief system while discussing the struggle of women who survived child sexual abuse as it’s shown in the films. Highway and Kahani2 have been used as the primary source as the strong women characters portrayed in these films reflect changing mainstream Hindi cinema. The conclusion portrays the need to reason the disabling aspects of social and cultural belief system and their role in the development of a healthy society.

Keywords

Silence, Child Sexual Abuse, Films, Women, Trauma, Socio-Cultural, Reputation, Fragmentation.
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  • Echoes of Silence in a Cultural Vacuum:Study of Child Abuse in Select Hindi Cinema

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Authors

Suman Rathore
Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India
Supriya Agarwal
Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India

Abstract


Child sexual abuse is a troubling and perplexing problem in any society. With reference to Indian social and cultural system it becomes even more disturbing because of the cultural vacuum around the same. The lack of terminology and unknowingness forces a child to succumb to silence. The article attempts to explore the evolving image of women’s representation in mainstream Indian cinema with reference to child abuse. The present paper has emphasized the need for a change in the belief system while discussing the struggle of women who survived child sexual abuse as it’s shown in the films. Highway and Kahani2 have been used as the primary source as the strong women characters portrayed in these films reflect changing mainstream Hindi cinema. The conclusion portrays the need to reason the disabling aspects of social and cultural belief system and their role in the development of a healthy society.

Keywords


Silence, Child Sexual Abuse, Films, Women, Trauma, Socio-Cultural, Reputation, Fragmentation.

References